This invention relates to a ski pole grip which allows emergency release of a skier's hand while also providing improved support and retention characteristics during normal skiing conditions.
When a ski pole becomes captured in use, as by the basket becoming snagged on an object, conventional retention straps will bind the skier's hand to the captured ski pole and may create a serious injury. To obviate this problem, strapless ski pole grips have been developed, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,045 to Miller. Because such strapless grips have one or more projections which overlie only a small portion of the skier's hand, they do not provide sufficient retention characteristics for sudden, but not common, forces which may cause the skier to lose his grip and hence the ski pole. Retention can be improved by using a grip with a more sculptured body, such as shown in Austrian Pat. No. 248310 issued in 1966.
Some ski pole grips have used a "quick-release" type strap which does not have to be looped around the skier's wrist. Typically, the strap extends across the length of the grip body and forms a channel for the skier's hand. The strap may be located across the back of the skier's hand, as shown in Lange et al 3,436,090 and Couttet 3,662,433, providing the advantage that the grip and hence the ski pole is not moved in position when the skier opens his hand. Unfortunately, a retention strap across the back of a skier's hand allows the grip to rotate slightly with each pole plant. This has made it impractical to use the backhand location for the fingers of the improved strapless grip illustrated in my copending application Ser. No. 391,690. In sum, a grip which combines a true quick-release feature with adequate support and retention characteristics has not been previously available.